Railroad yards generally have manually and/or automatically operated switching devices for switching railroad cars from one track to another. These switching devices are well known in the art and have been described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,652,849 and 4,337,914 both incorporated by reference herein and made a part hereof.
Generally, a pair of stationary rails and a pair of switching rails are arranged so that the switching rails can be moved to keep trains on a main track or divert them to a branch track. The switching rails are moved by a switching device which includes a connecting rod that extends beneath the tracks to connections with the switching rails.
The switching devices typically include a switch stand to one side of the rails which can be operated either manually or automatically. When operated by hand, the switch is moved to a switch point by throwing a lever arm 180 degrees. For example, in the prior art, a weighted lever arm lying horizontally on the ground or at the base of the switch stand is lifted and thrown 180 degrees to the opposite side of the switch stand where it rests again horizontally on the ground or base. The weight and horizontal position of the lever arm prevents bouncing and accidental repositioning of the switch which could cause derailment. However, due to the large arc of throwing the lever arm and the amount of force and bending over required to carry out this operation, many switchmen have experienced back compression and resulting back and leg injuries.
To assist switchmen, electric motorized railroad switch stands have been provided for moving the switching rails of a railroad track. Such a switch stand is illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,035, issued Nov. 28, 1995 by the same inventor named herein and assigned to the same entity. The electrical switch stand utilizes an electric motor and a gearing system to drive an actuator linked to the switching rails on the railroad track. The electric motor is powered by conventional alternating current and should therefore be connected to a continuous power source.
In many cases, however, switch stands must be installed in remote areas that do not have an available power source. Electric switch stands may be impossible or impractical to install in these areas, because even if power sources are available, it can be prohibitively expensive to install power links to the source and maintain service with a power supply utility.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved electrical railroad switch stand which can be installed and used in remote areas away from continuous power sources.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an electrical railroad switch stand that utilizes a self-contained power source.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent during the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.